AZIT Blog

How I Prepared for TOPIK and Improved My Score

카테고리

Korea Life

작성자

사남

Many people think that passing TOPIK with a high score means memorizing thousands of words and grammar points. Of course, vocabulary is important, but from my experience, the most important thing is getting used to real Korean.

When I reached the pre-intermediate level, I started taking classes with a native Korean teacher. Honestly, at first it was very difficult. I could barely understand anything during the lessons and sometimes I just sat there completely confused. But over time, something changed. Even when I didn't understand every single word, I started understanding the main idea of conversations. And that is extremely important for TOPIK.

You do not need to understand 100% of every sentence. You need to catch the meaning.

Because of this habit, listening became my strongest section in TOPIK. I got my highest score in 듣기 (Listening). I believe that listening to Korean speech every day really helps your brain adapt naturally to the language.

One thing I strongly recommend is studying with native speakers, especially from the pre-intermediate level and above. Even if it feels uncomfortable in the beginning, do not avoid it. The more you listen to natural Korean speech, the faster you improve.

Another important thing is practicing both 듣기 and 읽기 regularly. Especially for 읽기 (Reading), solving many practice questions is necessary because it improves your reading speed.

The first reading questions in TOPIK often focus heavily on grammar patterns. Some of these grammar forms are not commonly used in daily conversation, but you still need to know them for the exam.

One book I highly recommend is TOPIK II 합격 레시피. What I really like about this book is that it organizes similar grammar points together. For example, it explains one grammar pattern and then introduces similar expressions and synonyms that can replace it. This helps a lot when solving reading questions quickly.

For writing practice, I also recommend HOT TOPIK 쓰기. It is especially useful for preparing for the writing section because it teaches how to structure answers logically and naturally.

I also recommend YouTube channels that explain TOPIK strategies clearly.

One of my favorites is Hanijemi. Her explanations for 듣기 and 읽기 are very detailed, and she teaches the order in which you should solve questions during the exam.
https://youtube.com/@hanijemi?si=yG68S7vuXbeZOyif

For 쓰기 (Writing), this lecture was also very helpful for me:
https://youtu.be/Eg5sbcANOIQ?si=SJcfXACr5pVj7yt-

What helped me the most was consistency.

Listen to Korean often, practice reading every day, and don't be afraid of not understanding everything at first. Little by little, your brain starts adapting — and one day you suddenly realize that Korean feels much more natural than before.

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